Life on Fire: Radical Disciplines for Ordinary Living

By Ronnie Floyd

Ronnie Floyd has seen his church grow tremendously as a result of his biblical teachings on spiritual disciplines such as prayer and fasting. As the conservative, evangelical counterpart to Richard Foster'sThe Celebration of Discipline,Floyd's book explores nine essential spiritual disciplines of the Christian life. With chapters such as "He's God, Not Just Your Buddy," "Confess and Be Filled," and "Every Choice is a God Choice,"Life on Fireshows believers how living a radically committed, passionate, and purposeful life in Christ is both possible and fulfilling.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Apr 17, 2004
• ISBN: 9781418562083

Book preview

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR

LIFE ON FIRE

Ronnie Floyd combines the passion of an evangelist and the compassion of a successful pastor. He also has the ability to share these passions in both his speaking and his writing. You will not be the same after reading this book!

—DR. TIM LAHAYE

Author of best-selling series, Left Behind

What a passionate and perfectly timed message for our generation of Believers. Dr. Floyd is a gifted pastor-teacher. A true man of God. We have much to learn at his feet.

—BETH MOORE

Speaker, Teacher and Writer

With a Space Shuttle, before there is lift off, there must be ignition. Similarly, in the Christian life, there must be ignition, before there is lift off. This book is for you if you want the ignition to lift off and reach new heights in the Christian life.

—DR. TONY EVANS

Senior Pastor, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Dallas, Texas

President, The Urban Alternative, Dallas, Texas

There is nothing so cold as a fire that has gone out. And, there is nothing so empty as a heart that has lost its passion. Dr. Ronnie Floyd gives us key disciplines that can change a smoldering Christian into a believer whose heart is ablaze. I believe his book will be a spark for personal revival that will, in turn, be used to ignite a new generation of ‘on-fire’ believers.

—JANET PARSHALL

Nationally Syndicated Talk Show Host

"There has never been a time in our nation’s history when we needed spiritual reformation more than at this time. Life On Fire will be used by God to ignite many flames and hopefully a nation ablaze for Christ.

—DENNIS RAINEY

Executive Director, Family Life

"How many of us have wished, at one time or another, that our relationship with God was more powerful and relevant. In his new book, Life On Fire, Dr. Ronnie W. Floyd guides us back to the fundamental spiritual disciplines that will revitalize our walk and life from his own powerful, personal life and ministry."

—DR. BILL BRIGHT

Founder and President, Campus Crusade for Christ International

Some authors write better than they live. Ronnie Floyd is a man who lives out what he writes and speaks. His is a life on fire for Jesus Christ and out of that life he has written a book that informs the mind and inflames the heart. No matter where you are in your journey with Jesus, this book will stoke the fire of your relationship.

—DALE SCHLAFER

President, Center for World Revival and Awakening

Ronnie Floyd’s ministry is not only proven absolutely trustworthy, but his life is aboundingly fruitful. He’s a sower—sowing both the truth of the Gospel, as well as of the wisdom of God’s Word—sown into believers who want to grow.

—JACK W. HAYFORD, D. LITT.

President/Pastor, The King’s Seminary, The Church On The Way

The present generation of Christians seems to have forgotten the disciplines of the Christian life. As a result, too many Christians are living in spiritual defeat, compromise, and deadness. Pastor Ronnie Floyd, whose passion for the disciplines of the Christian life has so shaped his ministry, here offers practical guidelines for recovery of authentic Christian discipleship. May God use this book to call His people to repentance.

—R. ALBERT MOHLER, JR.

President, The Souther Baptist Theological Seminary

"Ronnie Floyd’s life and ministry is a blazing illustration of what he writes about in Life On Fire . . . God indeed uses the spiritual disciplines to ignite the fire in our lives for Christ and His Cause . . . This book will stoke the fire in your soul."

—DR. CRAWFORD W. LORITTS, JR.

Associate U.S. Director, Campus Crusade for Christ

This book is not a discourse from an armchair philosopher. Both the author and the church where he serves epitomize the truths that are so clearly delineated. God knows that in these days of apostasy, apathy and painted fire we need reality. Surely, this book helps to meet that need. I commend it.

—DR. ADRIAN ROGERS

Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee

Ronnie Floyd is ablaze with God’s glory! His new book ignites the soul with spiritual passion. It is must reading for anyone who wants to experience the power of God.

—JERRY FALWELL

Chancellor, Liberty University

Title Page with Thomas Nelson logo

Copyright © 2000 Ronnie Floyd.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or other—except for brief quotations in printed review, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible ( NASB ). Copyright © 1960, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Other Scripture references are from the following sources:

Holy Bible: New International Version® ( NIV ). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

The King James Version of the Bible ( KJV ).

The Message ( MSG ). Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Floyd, Ronnie W., 1955–

Life on fire : radical disciplines for ordinary living / Ronnie Floyd.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-8499-3748-5

1. Christian life. I. Title

BV4501.2.F5735 2000

248.4—dc21

00-061457

CIP

00 01 02 03 04 05 BVG 6 5 4 3 2 1

Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

To Mike Shillings,

my friend in ministry and former pastor,

the first person I saw who lived a

Life On Fire.

Thanks for letting God use you to

set me on fire!

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

I Want to See Fire

Chapter 2

Setting Your Life on Fire

Chapter 3

Making God Choices

Chapter 4

Early, First, or Nothing

Chapter 5

Living from the Inside Out

Chapter 6

Rescuing God

Chapter 7

Worship That Changes the Rules

Chapter 8

Exchanging Your Mind

Chapter 9

Finding Your Oak

Chapter 10

Faith in the Fire

Chapter 11

No Easy Path

Chapter 12

Extreme Christianity

Chapter 13

Other Fuel for the Fire

Chapter 14

When the Fire Goes Out

Notes

CHAPTER 1

I WANT TO

SEE FIRE

How would you describe your life: smolder and smoke, or deep embers and blazing fire? Or are you somewhere in-between? Let me tell you about a friend. George was young and energetic, a very likable guy. One day, he called my office in deep desperation, and I rearranged my busy schedule to see him.

George had been married only five years when his wife, Susan, walked out on him. She had become very weary of his demanding job and his lack of sensitivity to her. When he arrived home from his demanding job, he would either head to the golf course or cruise down the cyberhighway.

When George walked into my office the day Susan left, he was a broken man. His heart was aching, and his emotions were uncontrollable. He knew he had a problem with his wife, but he also knew he had an even deeper problem.

Susan was a Christian, but George was simply religious. He came to church with her on the Sundays he could not play golf and heard me share about the value of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. George knew that he did not have a relationship with Christ.

That afternoon in my office, his gloom lifted when I had the joy of leading George to Christ. Peace took over the countenance of that broken man. The Lord transformed him right before my eyes!

George shared his experience with Christ with Susan, and he attempted to make things right with her. She regretted walking out on him and was grateful for his conversion. George was not only reconciled to God, but also to his wife.

There is more to this story. George was really on fire for the Lord. The people around him did not understand what had happened, but they noticed a significant change in George’s life. The passion that once was sold out to his career, golf game, and the Internet had been transferred to his relationship with God. George’s life had been transformed.

Several months after George’s exciting turnaround, he began to be weighed down with the normal day-to-day challenges in life: a busy schedule, a demanding job, unrealistic expectations, and family responsibilities. We have all been there. George was struggling in his faith, and his fire began to smolder.

I was between meetings on a very busy day when George called. He insisted on seeing me that day. After my final scheduled meeting, George sat across from me in my office. Once again I heard desperation in his voice, but this time his desperation had nothing to do with his marriage or job.

George went directly to the reason for his need to see me. I will never forget his words: Pastor, I want to see fire!

I was at first taken aback by his statement, but as he continued, I began to understand. I have been a Christian for several months, George said, and God has done some great things in my life. But everywhere I go, I meet Christians who are apathetic about their faith. I’m afraid that I might become like them. I sense that my fire for God is going out. As I read the Bible, I see people who had the fire of God in their hearts.

Then he repeated the words that are etched forever in my mind: Pastor, I want to see fire!

I took this opportunity to encourage George from God’s Word. As I shared with him, my heart was so encouraged by this young man’s desire for his life to be a blazing fire for God. After I prayed with him and escorted him from my office, I sat down and kept replaying his words in my mind: I want to see fire!

You see, I have been where George was that day many times in my spiritual journey—times when I was not satisfied with where I was, when I wanted to go farther than others seemed to want to go, and when I wanted more of God in my life. One of those times occurred a couple of years ago.

It was the fall of the senior year of my oldest son, Josh, and football season was in full swing. Josh was a national record-holder as a quarterback that season. As his team continued its quest for the state championship, our lives were busy at every end of the spectrum.

As always, things were hectic in our lives. My ministry was full of constant demands and pressing deadlines, and my two boys had busy schedules that were taxing on all of us. But our family lived for high-school football and church activities. That was our life, and we enjoyed it!

There was only one problem. As November rolled around, I was distracted. I felt something was not right. My time with God was meaningful many days, but I was in a rut!

As I neared the end of that year, it all began to make sense to me. My fire was smoldering. I had unintentionally become distracted while handling the things of others and even the things of God. My family’s busy schedule had caught up with me. I had little to give in my relationship with God because I was pulled in too many directions. I was so busy trying to fan everyone else’s fires that my own fire was dwindling.

I was so busy trying to

fan everyone else’s fires

that my own fire was

dwindling.

I knew that was not where I wanted to be in my spiritual life, and I did not want to stay where I was. I wanted to go farther with the Lord than I had ever been. Most of the people around me did not notice my spiritual struggle, but I knew I had a problem. I wanted more.

I did not say it as George said it, but his words were in my heart. I, too, wanted to see fire—not a smoldering fire, but a fire with deep, blazing embers in my life.

FIRE IS OUR EMBLEM

One of the ways people express themselves is through their clothing. In an effort to be perceived as cool, some people wear clothing that is denoted by the company’s emblem—a sign, an image, or a badge. These emblems often appear on the front or back of a shirt, on a cap, or on the back pocket of jeans.

Here is how it works. In order to wear the company’s emblem, you have to pay more money for their clothes. That emblem on your clothing then gains you various levels of acceptance within certain groups of people. I know it is strange, but true!

Like the emblems on a clothing company’s products, there are many emblems of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. The Holy Spirit of God is the presence of God. Therefore, when you see an emblem of the Holy Spirit, it should immediately point you to God, just as a certain emblem on your clothing should point you to a certain company. For example, the Holy Spirit is described throughout Scripture in the emblems of wind, rain, water, oil, and a dove, among others.

One of the powerful emblems of the Holy Spirit is fire. The Holy Spirit is described in terms of fire more than four hundred times in Scripture. There are various meanings of fire in these verses. There are too many to share in depth, so I will share just a few, as seen in one passage of Scripture.

Fire As God’s Presence

Moses was a great leader who was used mightily by God. The story of God’s personal appearance to Moses is recorded in Exodus 3:2: The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.

In God’s personal encounter with Moses that day, He demonstrated Himself through flames of fire. Fire is seen in Scripture as representing the presence of God. This experience of being in the presence of God changed Moses’ life forever.

Fire As God’s Protection

The Lord surrounds His beloved people in order to protect them. This is seen in Zechariah 2:5: ‘For I,’ declares the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire around [Jerusalem], and I will be the glory in her midst.’

God promised to surround the city of Jerusalem, the holy Zion, with a wall of fire, which represented His very presence. Though without walls, Jerusalem was going to be protected by the fire of God.

Fire As God’s Purification

Once we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we are to live by faith. This faith will develop and grow as God takes us through the process of purification.

God uses the trials and circumstances of life as a refining fire. The Bible says, These [trials] have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Pet. 1:7 NIV). Our faith becomes purified when we walk through the fiery trials of life.

Fire As God’s Judgment

The judgment of God is seen throughout Scripture. His judgment comes upon those who oppose God’s people. It comes upon God’s people when they disobey Him. God’s final judgment will come upon those who have never trusted in Jesus Christ and Him alone for their salvation.

In Hebrews 12:29, God’s judgment upon sin is described as a consuming fire. The judgment of God will be expressed with great force and fire upon those who have not chosen Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

Fire As God’s Indwelling in Us Personally

The way God relates to His people changed on the day of Pentecost. In Acts 2:3, the Bible describes the coming of the Holy Spirit in terms of fire: They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them (NIV). These flames of fire were God’s verification that He had sent the Holy Spirit to be upon each believer.

In that moment, the Holy Spirit came to live within the lives of believers, never to leave again. In times past, the Spirit of God would come upon a person for an assigned task and then leave that person when the task was completed. Since the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has come to establish permanent residence within the believer.

The fire of God, the Holy Spirit, lives in you. Pentecost marked the beginning of the indwelling of the fire of God within you.

Fires Don’t Just Happen

Fires don’t just happen. Before you can build a fire, the conditions have to be right, preparations have to be made, and materials have to be gathered.

I confess to you that I am not a Boy Scout, yet I understand some of the basics about building a fire. It is important that the ground beneath the fire is dry. Whatever materials you choose to use need to be dry as well. Fire is greatly hampered by dampened and wet materials.

Once the conditions are right and you have gathered the correct materials, you are ready to build a fire. You need to begin by placing several twigs together on the dry ground. If you see some dry leaves nearby, you can gather them and place them under the twigs. When you have arranged the twigs, ensure that there are passageways for the fire to receive oxygen. Place a few pieces of newspaper along these passageways. This will help penetrate the twigs and other materials. Finally, place small branches, logs, or pieces of wood on top of the twigs. Remember, if a fire is built properly, its life is certain; if built improperly, it will not burn.

Remember, if a fire is

built properly, its life is

certain; if built improperly,

it will not burn.

Now it is time to light the newspapers that have been placed along the passageways of the materials. Be sure extra newspaper is available to assist the fire in its beginning stages. Once the newspaper is lit, the fire begins to burn. In moments, the twigs begin to